THE LASSCOCK family of Queanbeyan has a strong connection with the Raiders. Last night one of their boys was finally represented in an NRL match.

The Canberra Raiders wore black armbands in last night's NRL semi-final against the South Sydney Rabbitohs to commemorate the life of former junior Jay Lasscock. The 25-year-old Queanbeyan Blues captain died suddenly last Sunday.

Led by Raiders captains Terry Campese and David Shillington, both very close friends of Jay's elder brother Cy, the Raiders players requested to wear the bands last night to pay their respects.

Shillington and Campese both spent time with the Lasscock family during the week. ''It's a footballing family, all the brothers have played footy for the Raiders and the Queanbeyan Blues. It's hit the rugby league community pretty hard,'' Campese said. ''I'm close to the family personally and it definitely hit a few of the boys at training hard, too. It's something you never want to happen and it's great the boys wanted to show their respect for the family and Jay.''